2012, The Twenty-fourth Year of Heisei

Year-end Presentation of Five Waka Poems by His Majesty the Emperor

Concerned for meMy health and my surgerySo many peopleCame to sign the registerGrateful am I for their thoughts.

On visiting the temporary housing in Sendai

Struck by disasterNow in temporary housingPeople are livingI think how bitterly coldIt must become in winter.

On being invited to the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

'Twas here in my youthI mingled with peopleFrom many countries With fondness I rememberThe coronation of the Queen.

On visiting Okinawa Prefecture

To dodge bulletsThey hid behind pandanusSo I rememberedThinking of the days of warWe walk down the island road.

On the centennial of the passing of Emperor Meiji

The Meiji eraWhen many new things startedI think of those daysAs I pay my respectsAt the mausoleum.

(Notes to His Majesty's Waka) :

Note to poem 1 : His Majesty the Emperor had coronary artery bypass surgery on February 18, 2012 and left hospital on March 4. This poem expresses His Majesty's gratitude to the many people who came to sign the register at the Imperial Palace and elsewhere during this period.

Note to poem 2 : Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress visited the temporary housing in the city of Sendai in May 2012 to console those afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake. In this poem His Majesty describes His concern for those who have to spend the harsh cold winter in temporary housing.

Note to poem 3 : In 1953, at the age of nineteen, His Majesty the Emperor attended the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of His father Emperor Showa and met with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and representatives of many countries. In this poem His Majesty describes how, on Their Majesties' visit to Britain in May 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, He recalled His experience at the time of the coronation.

Note to poem 4 : In November 2012, Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress visited Okinawa Prefecture to attend the National Convention for the Development of an Abundantly Productive Sea. In this poem His Majesty describes seeing pandanus trees, Pandanus odoratissimus, from the road and remembering the story of how people had dodged bullets by hiding behind the pandanus during the Battle of Okinawa.

Note to poem 5 : In December 2012, Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress paid Their respects at the mausoleums of Emperor Meiji and Empress Dowager Shoken in Kyoto Prefecture on the centennial of the passing of Emperor Meiji. In this poem, His Majesty describes how He felt at the time.

Year-end Presentation of Three Waka Poems by Her Majesty the Empress

Reconstruction

Rising once againThe villagers in the northEmbracing the memoryOf everything lost and gone -Images of what used to be.

The ceremony of Chakko-no-gi

What's on his mindWith eyes unclouded and clearA young childStanding on the go boardStraightening his posture.

On our way

At the factoryStanding guard on the gatepostsA pair of shiisaaA reminder that indeedWe're in Okinawa.

(Notes to Her Majesty's Waka) :

Note to poem 1 : In 2012 Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress continued as last year Their visits to the afflicted regions in Miyagi, Nagano and Fukushima Prefectures to console those afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake and other disasters, and to express Their appreciation to those supporting them. In this poem, Her Majesty shows Her concern for the people of the north who are trying to restore and reconstruct again, holding in their hearts the images of lives, homes, surrounding nature, everything that was lost because of the earthquake and tsunami.

Note to poem 2 : On November 3, 2011, at the Akasaka East Residence, His Imperial Highness Prince Hisahito participated in the Chakko-no-gi and Fukasogi-no-gi, traditional Imperial ceremonies to celebrate a baby becoming a child. In this poem, Her Majesty describes how She felt on seeing Prince Hisahito standing on the go board* and straightening his posture in the ceremony.*go board: a wooden board (30 cm x 30 cm and about 15 cm high).

Note to poem 3 : On Their Majesties' visit to Okinawa Prefecture in November 2012, Her Majesty saw that shiisaa, lion-shaped ceramic ornaments to ward off evil, usually found on the rooftops of traditional Okinawan houses, were placed even on a pair of gateposts of a modern factory.She found it heart-warming and felt strongly that indeed She was in Okinawa.